


Fictober 2019

by Starcrusher_jpeg



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-11-10 18:14:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starcrusher_jpeg/pseuds/Starcrusher_jpeg
Summary: Fictober is finally here!





	1. Favorite Pen

**Author's Note:**

> It's the first time I'm doing it but it's a good chance to actually get back into the swing of things!. Each chapter will be another prompt day! as of right now, I'll be basing my prompts off of the 2017 prompt list for the first day at least

Scout sat at his desk for what seemed to him like an eternity, tapping the back of his pen on the hard surface as he thoughtlessly stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Every year around this time he’d find himself sneaking out of the base late at night, getting to a bar in a small, nearby town to see if the anonymous stranger had posted the new list for this year; a drawing challenge that was published every year they named ‘Inktober’. Every year Scout had done his best to get a screenshot on his phone of the updated prompts so he’d have something to do back at the base, and this year wasn’t any different.

His drawing space was illuminated by a small but powerful desk lamp, his room freshly cleaned and a pair of earbuds blaring music into his ears to get him into the zone. But like every year before it, he found himself sitting in his chair fiddling with anything he could get his hands on. He pushed himself back with a frustrated groan, running his hand over his face as the other continued to tap the pen against his desk.

Just as he was about to start to aimlessly draw lines in an attempt to become unrealistically inspired, a soft knock on his door tore his attention away from his now almost late project. Scout removed one of his earbuds with a loud ‘Come in!’ as a response to whoever needed him, shuffling his paper over to rest his cheek on his hand, his weight supported by his elbow that was propped on the cold, hard surface.

His door slowly creaked open and Sniper quietly stepped inside “You got my other boot hiding in here somewhere? Can’t find the damn thing to save my life.”

“Oh uh, yeah it’s in my closet, I thought it’d be funny to hide it and fill it with soda but I drank it before I could pour it in, and then forgot I hid it there.” He said blankly as he pointed his pen in the direction of his small closet that only had a few articles of clothing in it.

Sniper promptly awkwardly sifted through Scout’s privacy until he found what he was missing. “You sure you didn’t put any of your death sugar soda in here? What made you think taking one of my shoes was a good prank in the first place?” Sniper asked as he examined the inside of his shoe

Scout swung his legs to the side of his chair, turning his body so he could look at the other man. He shrugged in response “I got bored”

“Of course you did,” Sniper said dryly. “What are you doing with that construction paper? Please don’t tell me Pyro gave you gummy bears to make paper swans so he could set them on fire in the microwave again, a pyromaniac and a kid hyped up on sugar all of the time don’t exactly come up with the best ideas-”

Scout raised his hands in protest. “No no, I just got the prompts for the new year of inktober a few hours ago! Now I just gotta rattle my brain for an idea for today, it’s only day one and I’m almost behind already.” He swung his legs back to the front of the chair, sitting back into his regular position before he pulled his piece of still blank paper in front of him.”But hey, this is me we’re talking about! I’ll figure something out just like I always do.”

Sniper scratched the top of his head and walked up to inspect the paper, just as blank as Scout had said it was. “I’m not gonna’ pretend like I know what you’re talking about, but if you’ve got something to base a drawing off of, it can’t be too hard can it? I mean, you’ve got a fancy pen and everything.” Sniper motioned to the paper, then to the pen that was still in scouts hand, twirling around his fingers

“This is a lot harder than you’d think, Snipes, and for your information, this fancy pen is my favorite. I thought it’d help me think of an idea if I had everything perfect. Good lighting, nice music, this bomb as fuck pen, but the prompts this year just don’t interest me at all!”

Sniper gave a small hum and leaned over to give scout a kiss on the top of his head, looking over his shoulder once he had reached the open door frame. “You’ll think of something, there’s gotta be something rattling in that active head of yours, don’t force it.”

And with that the door clicked closed, and Scout was once again left by himself. With a deep breath, and a crack of the knuckles, scout finally started to draw.


	2. Morning Routine

Sniper rubbed the morning sleep out of his eye with the back of his thumb, his other hand clutched tightly around a warm cup of generic coffee, a blend he had constantly gotten but never completely understood. He took the first sip of the morning, only to curse under his breath as his uncharacteristically impatient nature left his tongue burning. A small space heater whirred in the corner of Sniper’s camper, doing it’s best to combat the frigid outside air from overtaking the inside with an unpleasant, cold atmosphere. Sniper’s sleepwear was light, a gray tank top and black, silky pants left him shivering without the desire to bundle up in clothes that fit the outside weather.

Scout emerged in an equally as dazed state, mornings had always been Sniper’s favorite time of the day since it was the only silence he could have before the other man would fully wake up and begin to bounce off of every surface in the small living space.

Scout quietly walked over to the fridge that protested in a loud, high pitched buzz when opened, and grabbed a cold can of Bonk! Before joining Sniper on the other side of the small booth seat that could fold out into a couch or another, more uncomfortable bed. With a loud crack of the tab snapping the end of the drink in, Scout took a small, loud sip from the sugary drink.

“Please. Don’t tell me that’s your breakfast.” Sniper said after an equally loud sip of his coffee

“Hey, it’s better than what you’re having, at least my drink doesn’t taste like dirt and a bitter old man's intention to keep a frisbee that flew into his yard when some kids accidentally threw it too hard”

“Doesn’t that stuff have actual radiation in it, roo?”

Scout turned the can to read its contents, skimming over the almost comical amount of sugar and taking note that it says that the can has thirty-seven servings per container.

“Well, yeah!-” He said proudly, seeming to get more energy with each passing second “But that’s what makes it work! It even has thirty-three percent more radiation, isn’t that how you get superpowers?”

Sniper replied with a blank, exhausted stare

“Right. Listen it’s too early for you to be yelling and trying to convince me that radiation actually gives you superpowers, you drink that stuff constantly; aren’t you at least a bit concerned that your body hasn’t built a tolerance to the caffeine yet?”

Scout waited for Sniper to finish his drawn-out sip of coffee, deeming his words so important that they shouldn’t be drowned out by something resembling motor oil.  
“It’d be concerning if it didn’t keep me going! Imagine me drinking this stuff for nothing!” He finished his thought with a startlingly loud laugh and a chug of the carbonated drink in his hand, shaking it once it was empty and setting it down onto the table. “Plus, if it was so deadly, how come I’m still as sexy as the day I walked into this deathtrap of a job?” Scout raised an arm, and if it weren’t for the oversized jacket that belonged to Sniper keeping his body warm, small muscles would be bulging from his skin to present themselves for Scout’s efforts in an attempt to impress the other man

Sniper let out an unamused ‘Right’ before grabbing the empty can and reading the contents aloud for himself. “Water, irradiated, isotopes, unstable, beef stock, irradiated?” He looked up at Scout who was mumbling something to himself about how nice his arms looked, admiring himself. Sniper continued

“Contains eleven thousand percent the daily recommended allowance of sugar and two hundred and forty thousand millirems above the annual recommended allowance of radiation exposure. Right”

Scout finally tuned back in. “Well yeah but-” With one quick, swift motion, the can was snatched from Sniper and back into its original owner's hands. “I’m pretty much the only one that drinks these, and I’m not even close to dead yet so they can’t be all that bad!”

Scout crushed it with the help of his other hand, tossing it into the open trash can that had more waste in it than what could fit. He bounced up out of his seat, stripping off Sniper’s two-sizes-too-big jacket and putting it in his seat. He unfastened his blue sweatpants, stripping them off to reveal a tight pair of briefs that donned the same color. With a quick folding of his pants, he neatly set them on the crumpled up jacket before stretching his limbs and starting the short walk back to Sniper’s room. “Anyways, Snipes, we gotta get ready! Oversleeping is a bitch and briefing starts soon, kinda’ sucks that you make it so difficult to get up in the morning, huh?” He flashed a cocky smile, pointing his finger at him in the shape of a gun

Sniper smiled, forcing air out of his nose in a silent laugh. “Right, you don’t make it any easier mister ‘I’m going to Whine at sniper until he gets back in bed even though he just had to get up to pee at three in the morning’”

And with the end of his name-calling, he stood, shaking his own arms out and cracking his knuckles. “C’mon let’s get ready I guess. I’m tired as all hell so this is gonna’ be a disaster of a day.”  
Scout leaned his body back and looked out to his side, toothpaste sliding down the corner of his mouth as he took his toothbrush out of his mouth to talk “I’ll be sure to keep ya’ company, I’ll bring you some Bonk!” He returned the toothbrush to his mouth with an enthusiastic thumbs up

“Please, don’t”


	3. Trigger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one down! this one was a bit forced so sorry in advance lol

It’s been a few months since Scout slumped his bag down in the corner of his new room. The base wasn’t as big as he had originally thought but due to what only seemed to be luck, he managed to get the biggest room at the base. He slumped down on the edge of his new bed, once again passively scanning the empty, bland room as he thought of ways to personalize and decorate it just like he had done every night before.

Tension had been high since the team had been assembled, there were some members that thought the best way to form a connection and do better in battle was to get together once or twice a week and do something as a group, whether that be sitting down around a fire to tell stories and assemble snacks that were too sweet for most of the group, or sitting inside enjoying a board game together. There were also some that liked their privacy, choosing to enjoy time alone to unwind after a hard day of work.

Scout tapped his foot idly on the carpeted floor, and after getting up to pace the room for a few minutes, decided he had too much energy to stay inside of his room all night. His backpack slung over his shoulders and connected with his back with a thud, soda cans shuffling and hitting each other, along with a handgun that had gotten it’s fair share of soda accidentally spilled into it

With quick steps, and a not-so-subtle shove of the base door, scout was outside; the cool breeze hitting his skin and rejuvenating any energy lost in the day’s mission. Scout banged on the side of Sniper’s van, the lights from inside illuminating enough for him to properly find the front door.

Scout paced in a circle as he listened to Sniper stumble into things, cursing himself once he finally swung the door open. Scout quickly ran up to the other man, letting his footrest up on one of the metal steps into the small, stuffy camper

“Hey yo! I’m about to go shoot some rounds, all the energy I’ve got’s making me wanna’ throw something! You want in? I can throw you some of my empty Bonk! cans to work your sharpshooting magic on!” He finished by flashing a wide, innocent smile

Sniper slowly squatted, letting his arms hang over his knees. “Roo. Do I really look like I’m in the mood to go shooting with you right now?” He used a hand to motion to his body, his skin bare except for a pair of light blue boxers with the words ‘BLU’ printed across the crotch in white

“Well, I just thought your clothes removed itself whenever I’m around, that’s usually how it goes, ain’t it?” he mocked with a laugh

“Right, keep talking like that and I’ll keep my door locked for a few days, who knows, I might even invest in something loud enough to drown out the sound of people knocking on my door to annoy me about shooting after we just got back from doing just that for ten hours.”

Scout shrugged. “So you ain’t gonna go, I get it! I’ll go shooting by myself then.” He gave a small wave as he started to jog off, turning around and backpedaling as he continued to get further away. “I’ll see you later tonight!”

Sniper stood. “Of course you will.” he mumbled before shutting the door and retreating back into his room.

Scout continued down the dirt path, stopping once he was finally staring into a small river just on the outskirts of the base. He stripped his shoes and socks off, storing them in his bag as he jumped down into the cold water to continue to his destination.

After mumbling about how spy had said this ‘secret area of the base’ was only ‘a few minutes of a walk.’ And a few scrapes on his skin from tree branches, he finally reached his destination: an area amidst the dense forest and running rivers that opened up into a flat, inviting area; a small log carved into a crude sitting bench lying adjacent a small campfire, soot sitting in the middle with pieces of burnt wood bundled in the mess.

A small wooden dummy protruded out of a nearby tree, lighten up by a small floodlight, holes indented in the crude copy of a human. Scout set his bag down, stretching his legs before unpacking his bag.

Full cans of bonk were placed hastily onto the sitting bench, along with his small pistol and a few boxes of ammo that the team used for practicing. Scout loaded a clip, quickly chugged a can and finally walked into position of the dummy

"Finally, a place to de-stress." He said aloud to himself, wondering if the wooden shooting dummy could secretly hear him

He took aim with a deep breath, steadied his hands, and pulled the trigger.


	4. I know you didn’t ask for this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Changing the prompt list that I'm using since i wasn't having too much success on the last one! Sorry for the super short chapter, the others should be longer!

“Hey, good job today!” Scout exclaimed once he met with the rest of the team in the intel briefing room. Each of them gave their respective, short responses as they got ready to relax for the rest of the day, changing into more comfortable clothes or washing the dirt from their bodies.

Scout pointed at sniper with his fingers shaped into a gun, sniper quickly stripping his outer vest. He shoved his vest into his locker, stepping up on the bench to swing his other foot over and land on the other side; outstretching his arm towards Scout awkwardly.

“Hey, Scout uh-” Sniper huffed as he balanced himself, hopping on one foot to let his other swing over the bench and stabilize him. “I know you didn’t ask for this, but here.” He reached into his locker and pulled out a colorful, wrinkled stack of paper and tossed it to Scout.

Scout turned his head to meet Sniper once he noticed his name being called, giving a small ‘hm?’ before snatching the paper out of the air and unwrinkling the pages.

“It’s a bit bent out of shape, but I thought it was better than nothing right? Overheard you talking about it with engie, hope I got the right one.”

Scout looked at the front page, a superhero plastered in a heroic pose with his famous sidekick by his side. The corner read ‘Issue one’ in small white letters, and the corners were raised slightly from pre-use.

“Yo, no way! These things are super rare, how’d you get your hands on one?” Scout quickly rolled the comic up, setting it gently on the inside of his bag.

“Oh you know, I heard of one floating around, I thought it wouldn’t be too hard to get to you.”

“Well damn, that’s real’ cool for you, dude! I’ll have to return the favor someday”

Sniper waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, if I really wanted something out of you, I’d do much more than get you some dumb comic.”

Scout put two fingers to his temple, motioning them outwards as a salute before retreating back into the base, closing himself off in his room.

“Got an eye on the kid do you now?” Demo cheered with a hearty laugh, slapping Sniper on the back

“Just a good gesture, maybe he’ll repay the favor when I need it, someday."


	5. I might just kiss you

“We really shouldn’t be doing this” Scout whispered, the small space he was forced into constricting his movement and making his joints ache from the uncomfortable position he’d been forced into

“It's kinda’ fun though. Exciting isn’t it?” Sniper replied in a low, giddy tone, his tall, lanky limbs forced him into an equally as uncomfortable position, metal hangers screeching on the metal bar they’d been hung on. Sniper shifted his position, trying to shift his leg to give scout more room; only for their clothes to shuffle together and his leg being forced to now support most of his weight.

“Why do we gotta’ hide in Pyro’s closet though? I mean, there’s better places to try and catch him that’d be more comfortable and less...stuffy”

“Nobody’s been able to see pyro’s face, he wears his mask in the showers, remember? Besides-” Sniper paused as he leaned his face closer to Scout’s. “It’s more fun this way, you gotta’ admit.” Sniper leaned onto Scout, letting his weight fall onto Scout’s chest; crushing him against the edge of the closet to give himself more room.

Scout turned his face so his nose didn’t get crushed by Sniper’s face, letting his face rest on his neck and doing his best to breathe with the extra weight pushing on his lungs. “Y’know, if your breath smelt half as bad, I might just kiss you. And no, I’ve never noticed since you’re usually seven inches in my-”

Scout’s sentence was abruptly cut short by the other man’s hand covering his mouth. Sniper let out a quiet hush, lifting himself off of Scout slowly to try and muffle the sound of clothes rubbing together. Both men quickly got into position on each end of the closet, pushing the doors gently outward to try and get a better view.

Pyro entered, swinging the door open with a carefree motion, his flamethrower sturdily harnessed on his back that connected with the top of the doorframe once he tried to enter the room. He gleefully unstrapped his weapon, leaning it onto the wall beside him to make sure it was out of the way.

He greeted his stuffed animals that were in various places of the room, picking them up one by one, placing the end of his gas mask to each one’s face before lining them up at the foot of his bed. He clapped happily, exclaiming muffled words that were incoherent to anyone outside of the gas mask. The pyromaniac threw himself onto his bed, the springs creaking loudly as he bounced up from the force. Stuffed animals scattered across the bed and onto the floor

Sniper and Scout looked at each other, a confused expression plastered on both of their faces as they watched what they assumed to be Pyro winding down from a long mission. Scout slowly closed his side of the closet; leaning back as they whispered to Sniper. “Dude this is crazy. You know what this wild lunatic is capable of, what if we get caught? I think we should bail.”

“No, no, look”

Pyro pulled off his shoes one at a time, throwing them under the bed once they were off and had been awkwardly stared at for what seemed like the most excruciating few seconds of the observer's life. With a content huff, he pulled back the covers to his bed, outstretching his legs under them. Pyro scanned the small bed, snatching a stuffed unicorn from the end of the bed, squeezing it tightly as he pulled the covers over his shoulders.

“He sleeps with his mask on,” Scout said dryly. “He sleeps with his mask and his clothes on? We just sat here, watching this weirdo bounce on his bed and snuggle a stuffed animal, risking our lives in this cramped closet for him to sleep with his mask on?” He whispered loudly

Sniper quickly held his hand over the feisty Bostonian's mouth. “Well he hasn’t noticed so far, I've got a plan to get us out of here, but we gotta’ be quiet, alright?” With the confirmation of a nod, and a muffled ‘mhm’, Sniper released his hand. He cracked the closet door open once again, watching the Pyro’s back as he slept.

“He isn’t watching us right now, if we’re quiet he might not even notice we’re here. We can slip right out and he’d never be the wiser”

“And if he does catch us?” Scout retorted, cracking his side of the closet door open to get a better view, as well as to get into position to execute the plan.

“If he does spot us, then I guess we just run. My guess is that he’ll be either too groggy to do anything about it, or we can outrun him.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Don’t worry about me, long legs, long strides or whatever. Stay low, and stay silent. On three?”

With Scout once again confirming with a nod, the plan was put into action.

“No need to rush it, roo; just take it nice and slow. Three. Two. One-”

They both gently rushed the wooden doors open, Scout’s side creaking loudly as he pushed. Scout’s muscles were tensed, his breathing shallow as they both set foot onto the carpeted floor. Sniper watched intently for any sign or shift in Pyro’s body, his mask hissing with every steady exhale making for a good indicator if nothing else.

Walking along the wall, they both dodged and carefully stepped over the remaining stuffed animals that had been scattered with Pyro’s antics, along with unused flares and various blunt objects that had been used for combat on the battlefield.

Scout looked straight ahead at Sniper’s back, occasionally glancing down to not step on anything that’d signal Pyro of their intrusion. Finally, at the door leading to their freedom, sniper quietly turned the knob, opening it just enough for both of them to escape before silently closing it again, keeping the handle turned until it hit the frame.

Scout lead them to his room down the hall, sighing in relief once they had reached the sanctuary filled with empty Bonk! Cans and scattered gun bullets. “Close one Snipes” He said hitting the other man in the shoulder with a chuckle.

“Well, at least we can say we tried, but I really don’t think I’ll be doing that with you again any time soon.” He said as he rubbed the pain from his shoulder, letting his muscles relax after the tense situation.

“It was your idea in the first place! Your idea of fun sucks, man.” Scout picked up an upright Bonk! Can from beside his bed, gulping it down after shaking it to confirm it wasn’t empty.

“Alright then, fun police. Next time we can do something you think we’ll like”

“Trust me, what I do for fun is much less dangerous.”


	6. Yes, I’m aware. Your point?

“Hey you know that uh-” Scout paused as he looked around Sniper’s camper, old food littered the corners of the countertops in small clumps, and dirty clothes wrinkled up into a pile on one of the booth seats, the table sprinkled with cigarette ash that didn’t quite make it into the designated tray. “This place is kinda’ a wreck,” Scout said blankly, shifting the clothes to the end so he could lay down; using the pile of clothes behind him as a pillow while his legs planted to the floor.

“Yes, I'm aware. Your point?” Sniper replied from the comfort of his bed. He shifted his weight from his back to his side, letting his hand dangle off the edge, his legs entangled in the oversized blanket.

“Have you even gotten out of bed today?” Scout asked jokingly, letting his leg rest on the other as he bounced his foot up and down. He positioned his arms back, letting them rest on the dusty ledge that housed one of the only sources of natural light in the small living space.

Sniper sat up, running his hand across his face to wipe the groggy feeling from his eyes. “Once or twice, maybe.” He looked to his right, finding two glass jars filled with what was soon to be, a one time use to extinguish fires sitting at the corner of his bed against two sides of the camper.

“Just kidding.” He added after a brief pause. “Why does it matter to you? This is your day off too, y’know.” With a few necessary huffs, Sniper laid on his chest, raising his legs and resting his feet on the window behind him so he could look down at Scout who had emptied the full ashtray to draw simple pictures with his finger. “And you’re really not helping my case.”

Scout wiped his finger off on his pant leg, sitting up and starting to unwrap the bandages on his hands. “Yeah, I know! But when it’s just go-go-go for weeks on end only to have a day when you can relax, you kinda’ find it hard to.”

“No, you find it hard to, I can take it easy just fine, thank you.”

“So you haven’t gotten up at all today?” Scout turned to look up at sniper, letting his armrest on the table as he shifted.

“Nope”

“What about to eat? You know, as a runner, I eat a lot, gotta keep up my energy so I can outrun all of you bozos if you guys start dying.”

“Well, roo, luckily that isn’t my job, I really only eat once a mission is over, not like I can bring some chips and some pop with me up to the nest. Why are you here again? Don’t you have someone else to bug off to?”

Scout rose to his feet, shoving his dirty wraps into his pocket before running his hand through his chestnut brown hair. “Well, not really. I’m bored out of my freaking mind, the only other person that’ll let me talk to them for more than five minutes is the doc, but the last time I went to him on an off day he replaced my lungs with two more hearts because it’d make me ‘feel more alive’ or something.”

Sniper sighed “Well if all you came here for was to bug me about the state of my own home you can go off somewhere else. If you’re looking for food I've got some leftovers in the fridge. Now if you’ll excuse me-” Sniper rolled onto his back, resting his legs back onto the rest of his mattress. “I’m gonna get more sleep, you wouldn’t believe it but a day out of that hot nest is the perfect time to get caught up on sleep.”

“Well-” Scout started as he lolled to the Sniper's small fridge, moving plastic containers aside and finally slamming it shut once he realized the lack of food that appealed to him within. “Mind if I join you? I just ran a few miles around the base, I could probably use a nap myself.”

“Of course you can.” He said as he motioned with a hand over to him. “Kick my jars over on your way up and I’ll kill you.”

“I think spilling your gross piss jars would be worse than anything you could do to me.” Scout joked. He undid his belt, untucking and removing his shirt to join the rest of Sniper’s pile of clothes. The heel of his foot met the back of his shoe, forcing it off without the need for bending down too far. With his shoes off and his socks wadded into them, he jerked his pants off of his hips, struggling to get his foot out of each designated entryway.

With his clothes in a messy pile mixed with Sniper’s, he climbed the comically small ladder up to Sniper’s bed.

“A lot of struggling you did down there, a bit worrisome when the fastest one on the team can’t take his clothes off without having it become a challenge.” He said with a chuckle tailing the end of the sentence.

“Listen man just scoot over,” he said in a slightly irritable tone. “I’d be able to take my clothes off better if you had a bigger van.” Scout complained as he struggled over Sniper to lie down; pulling the covers over himself once he got comfortable.

Sniper wrapped his arm around the other man, exhaling in contentment as he buried his face into the back of Scout’s bare neck. “I’m sure it being such a mess didn’t make it easier either, huh roo?”

Scout pressed his body back into Sniper’s embrace, letting the warmth and comfort of being held relax his muscles. “At least you know. Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll help you tidy it up later.”  
“I really think me letting you stay here is a good enough reason for you to help me, invading my personal space and all.”

“Ah right, you like havin’ me around, don’t even try to act like you don’t, I’m awesome.”

“If you want to call it that, then yeah; you are.”


	7. No, and thats final

“You’re crazy if you think I’ll let you actually do that,” Sniper said sternly, his right hand tightly gripping the wheel of his camper while his left arm hung out the open window. His attention flipping between the road and Scout in the passenger seat, fiddling with his beanie while his legs rested up on the front dash.

“Okay, okay-” Scout started, flipping his beanie back onto his head, pulling it over his cold, red ears. “What if I got to drive it on the way back? C’mon man I’ve never been able to get behind the wheel of anything like this! You know how fun that'd be?” He exclaimed as he turned his body to face sniper, the small bucket seats limiting his range of physical movement.

“Oh, I bet it’d be something to see alright” He retorted, his eyes now focused on the road. The headlights shone in front of him dimly, and cold air from the outside seeped in through the open vents. “But you can do that with literally anything else, the second you get your sugar-coated hands on this wheel is the day I give it up.

Sniper waited for a witty response from the kid, snapping his head to the right once he was only greeted with a harsh gust of wind through the now opened window. “Hey!” Sniper yelled in surprise, Scout’s knees pushed against the inside of the door to keep himself inside the van as he hung his torso out of the vehicle and into the cold, crisp air.

“Hey, Snipes! It’s getting pretty cold out here, are you sure it isn’t going to snow? I heard from engie that uh, sometimes it snows when it gets this cold!” Scout shouted against the wind hitting his face.

“Get in here, kid!” He said as he leaned over and wrapped his arm around Scout’s waist, tugging on his stomach to pull him inside. The van swerved from one lane to the other, the night time darkness difficult for sniper to navigate with the shallow amount of light provided. “Would you stop doing that? This is the fourth time this trip and I’m not saving you again if you decide to fall out.” He growled, leaning his right elbow on top of the steering wheel to pinch the bridge of his nose in a mix of frustration and exhaustion.

The sound of metal hitting linoleum rang through the back of the camper, the sound of glass shattering and pans hitting the floor from Sniper’s jerk of the wheel muffled by the white noise of tires treading against asphalt. Sniper let out a sigh, moving his elbow and re-gripping the wheel. “I swear to god, if my favorite mug is broken because I had to pull your dumb ass back into the van again I’ll leave you out in the cold, in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’m sure it was nothing!” Scout reassured. “Probably like, your least favorite bowl or something, y’know, the one that you never really like using but you use it anyways because everything else it dirty-”

“Scout.” Sniper said in a low tone, exhausted

“I mean, maybe you liked it at one point in time but like, y’know you’re either eating more or it got chipped during a move or-”

“Scout.”

“I mean maybe you like it I don’t know your life story, I mean actually I do but you know what I mean. Anyways, you know the bowl that just doesn’t really match the set you’re using right now, the last one in a set that you don’t have anymore because you kinda’ just gave the rest away or forgot the rest at a previous house or Demo smashed all of them except that one because you were eating your favorite cereal out of it at the time when he did it and he didn’t wanna’ make a huge mess or anythin’ because then he’d had to clean it up and he really just doesn’t wanna-”

“Scout.” Sniper interrupted. “I get it, it’s fine. It’s late and- “ Sniper checked his watch that read ‘1:37 A.M’ “I’m tired.” He added before taking a sip of his now cold coffee that had been stuck in the coffee holder in the space dividing the two passengers. “I’d like to just stop for gas and get some more coffee so we can actually get to where we’re going tonight. It’s only a few more hours.” He said, more for himself than Scout who’d already taken a nap hours earlier.

“Yeah I get it, my bad.” He yawned, returning his legs to the dash and resting his hands behind his head. Sniper rested his hand idly on the shift, yawning as he blankly looked at the straight road in front of him. Scout quietly and slowly moved his own hand to meet Sniper’s, his thumb gently rubbing sniper’s knuckles as he rested his chin on his other hand, looking out the window viewing nothing.

They drove in silence, finally arriving at a gas station with bright neon signs and fluorescent lights that almost seemed unnaturally bright. Sniper pulled up to a pump, Scout shutting his door a bit too harshly behind him to stretch his legs.

“Great,” Sniper stated, looking up at the specks of snow that were falling from the sky, sticking to his clothes and building up a thin layer onto his hat.

“He-hey! Would you look at that. I guess hard hat was right after all, can’t disagree with a guy that smart.”

Sniper sighed, tugging his wallet out of his front pocket. “I guess we gotta’ stay in the van for tonight, damn thing doesn’t even have any heating.”


	8. Can you stay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still chugging along! Sorry for the drop in quality these past few entries, I've been super busy. I hope you enjoy anyways, this is meant to be kind of messy, short, and enjoyable after all!

“Hey, it’s been a while,” Sniper said warmly, his body leaned against the frame of the open door; his leg raised so the bottom of his foot could rest on the polished door frame.

Scout looked up from the project on his desk to swing his neck back, pushing the front end of his chair up with his foot so he could view the lanky man upside down. “Hey, Snipes! Been a bit hasn’t it. You miss me while we were gone?” With the end of his sentence, the chair under him shifted back, taking scout with it to the ground and getting a loud huff as the air left his lungs upon impact. He quickly stood, his face bright red as he tried to awkwardly clear his throat to shift the embarrassment aside; darting his eyes away from the Australian.

Sniper chuckled, walking in and shutting the door behind him to slightly close the gap between them. “Of course I did-” His balance was lost, scout darting towards him and wrapping his arms around the lanky man. He pressed his face into Sniper’s shoulder, squeezing tightly and worrying Sniper that he might never let go. “Things were boring back home-” Sniper started, returning the sign of affection, the familiar warmth easing his nerves. “At least here you keep me entertained, even if ninety percent of it makes me want to put a hole in your wall if it goes on for too long.” He completed with turning his head outwards to reminisce about the times months prior when they were constantly within proximity of each other

“Nah, you love it when I bug you! How boring would it be if I weren't here? No need to thank me, you’re welcome.” Scout replied arrogantly, letting the other man go if only to shoot him with finger guns.

“Oh, of course, thank you so much for replacing my ammunition with pez right before a battle.” 

“Hey, that was funny! And, no one got hurt.”

“Yeah, not even the enemy because when I opened my ammo pack I had enough sugar to keep me up for the rest of the week.”  
Scout waved the allegation off with a hand, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes to emphasize the dramatic statement. “Trust me pally, if you drink what I drink on a daily, you’d probably never sleep again.”

“Trust me, if I’m with you, I usually need all of the sleep I can get.” He teased, lifting Scout’s chin slightly to kiss him. “How was your visit back home? I bet all of your brothers were glad to see you.” Sniper asked, kicking his boots off to relax in the comfort of Scout’s bed positioning himself at the end. 

“Ah, well, y’know how siblings are. Or at least that’s what I would say if I wasn’t the best brother ever!.” He quickly added, hopping onto the bed to take a seat on the other side; crisscrossing his legs and giving in to the slight slouch in his back. “They loved having me back for a bit! It isn’t often I get to help ma’ with the chores around the house, and she appreciates any time she can get away from my brothers since they like to make a mess of the place constantly. It was pretty nice of the admin to give us some time back home, not as fun without you around though, my brother’s don’t let me talk to them for as long as you do.”

Scout shrugged. “I guess they just don’t appreciate how awesome I am, I’ve got a lot to say, y’know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sniper removed his hat, flinging it onto Scout’s desk by the brim, it twirling around his small desk lamp before coming to a stop. “Being back in my old stomping grounds was fun for a while, but there’s only so many times you can get bit by bugs bigger than your hands before you don’t find the charm so enticing.” He said as he removed his gloves, setting them on the floor beside him.

The sun started to retreat into the horizon, the room darkening as the natural sun transitioned into the comfort of night. Sniper stretched his arms, standing up with a huff. “It was a long drive back, I should probably get going. But we can see each other tomorrow if you’ve got some free time? Pauling is probably’ gonna swamp us with work now that she’s got everyone.” Sniper turned without waiting for a response, gripping the door handle to make his exit.

“Wait!” Scout snapped, mentally cursing himself for sounding more desperate than he intended to. He tried to clear his throat again, a clear indicator oh his embarrassment. “Uh. Can you stay? Not to sound clingy or nothin’. I ain’t clingy, We just haven’t seen each other for a few months and I kind of missed you a bit.”

Sniper quietly shifted himself around, letting his back leaning against the closed door, sticking his hands into his pockets. “You know we have to be up in the morning, wouldn’t me staying with you decrease the chances of you actually getting up by a lot?” He teased with a smile, walking back into the middle of the room idly.

“No way! Besides-” Scout bent his torso over the edge of the bed, grabbing a pile of papers and sliding them out into view. “I got the mission details for tomorrow's briefing, so Pauling said we don’t even have to go if we read this boring stuff by tomorrow night.”

“You really planned all of this out, didn’t you? Almost like you knew I'd say yes.” He stripped his jacket, throwing it into the corner of the room; soon followed by his shirt and his dress pants.

“You’re easy to read.” Scout boasted, waving his hands in the air as he spoke. “It’s alright, I know you’ve got a soft spot for me, it ain’t your fault, everyone does eventually.”

Sniper leaned in for another kiss, shifting himself under the sheets of Scout’s bed as the sun finally set. “And you’re sure about that, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am!” He exclaimed with confidence. “I really don’t think anyone can resist me, ain’t you proof of that Mr cold-blooded-killer?” Scout finished with a light punch to Sniper’s arm, gaining a playful yet pained expression from the almost nude marksman.

“Right, how could anyone not jump at the opportunity to hear you talk about yourself for hours.”

“You like hearing it!”

“‘Course I do.”


	9. There’s a certain taste to it

“Alright, I swear on whatever twisted deity that decided to create mankind, if you even  _ think  _ about putting your gross jar stuff into my mouth, I’ll clobber you into next week.” Scout protested from behind the blindfold, slumped down in snipers small booth, the only seating in his van besides his bed.

“Trust me, it isn’t, why’d I waste a precious resource to play a bad prank on you?” Sniper reassured, holding a fork with a small piece of meat balanced on top with steam rising into the air. The smell of an unfinished, hearty meal filled the small space, making Scout’s stomach rumble in anticipation. 

“C’mon man, I’m starving over here, is it ready yet?” He said impatiently, fingers gently tapping on the table in front of him

“Be patient!” Sniper laughed from across the table, bringing the utensil closer to himself so he could speed the process up with a few slow blows of air. “You’ve been asking me if it’s ready every what, ten seconds? How do you ever wait for anything with patience like that?”

“I don’t! Obviously. And for starters, I don't cook my food till it’s on fire, why cook it that hot anyways? It’s not like anyone  _ actually _ enjoys it; and ain’t that just leftover meat from whatever you killed and ate a few days ago?”

“No, no don’t spoil it, Scout you gotta’ start guessing once the food is  _ actually _ in your mouth!”

“So it  _ is _ food!” Scout exclaimed, pointing a finger into the general direction of where he thought Sniper was.

“I didn’t say anything-” Sniper teased before sending one more cold blow of air onto the contents of the fork. “It’s ready now, please for the love of the queen don’t just devour it, actually  _ taste _ it this time.”

Sniper raised the fork close to Scout’s mouth, raising his fingers to cup his jaw and silently coax his mouth open. Sniper gently lowered the fork onto his tongue, pulling it out from Scout’s lips once he finally grabbed the contents with the help of his teeth. The fork clinked onto the hard surface of the table where it was set, Sniper watching the blindfolded man chew and taste the flavors of ‘whatever-weird-Australian-thing-that-I’ll-probably-hate’

Scout sat in relative silence while he chewed, swallowing slowly to try to distinguish the flavor. “Well, it’s obviously meat. But what kind?” He asked himself, taking a moment to think. “They’ve got big bugs there, right? You wouldn’t be trying to feed me any kind of weird bug thing are you?”

“I don’t even eat that stuff, roo. This stuff is way more tame in terms of strange animals to eat.”

“Well, that’s good! There’s just a certain taste to it. It tastes just like chicken but the aftertaste is-” Scout interrupted himself, his hand slapping over his mouth as his cheeks puffed up. His hip crashed against the side of the table as he thrashed his body forward in an attempt to stand quickly, the small junk lazily thrown on its surface from long missions shuffling around. 

Scout rushed out of the mobile home, swinging the door open and running outside to vomit across the outside floor a few feet away from the entrance to Sniper’s home, throwing his hat and his headset to the side so it didn’t get bile over the surface.

Scout slowly crept back to the mobile home, hanging onto the metal, thin door frame while he slightly pulled himself up to wipe his face with the back of his hand. Energy seemed to fill him out of nowhere, releasing a sigh before hopping back in towards Sniper with optimism and excitement in his voice. “Alright, your turn!” 


	10. Listen, I can't explain it. You'll have to trust me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yikes guess who fell behind lmao! I'm going to try to get caught up within the next few days!

“Hey, Snipes, check this out,” Scout said with fascination as he poked at his exposed chest, a large swirl of black and blue circling his sternum. His finger made contact with the mysterious swirl, smoke pouring out of it and down his stomach only to thin and vanish once it seeped to the band of his pants. Scout frantically wiped the crotch of his pants in a panic, shivering at the invasion 

“Bloody hell-” Sniper whispered in awe, sitting on the metal step into his van. “What is that thing, roo?” Sniper stood, walking over to gently and cautiously rest a finger on the formation in his chest, prompting a continuous stream of smoke to trail down Scout’s body

“I’m not sure!” Scout confessed, looking down at it. “I’m pretty sure it’s trying to eat one of my lungs though. Maybe not! Who knows? Maybe I’ll keep it, do strange black holes that form on your body shoot lasers or anything cool?”

Sniper quietly examined the abnormality as it continued to stream smoke, a faint hollow whistle being sent into the air that grew with intensity as he continued to coax it. “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Sniper demanded, hopping into his van. His door clicked shut and once he was finally out of Scout’s sight, frantically scrambled to pull his storage box open; crouching down to get better access to the small space. He emptied the space, pulling old jars and loose papers that had no space in the rest of the van, finally reaching the back to pull out a large book. It glowed with unnatural intensity, bound by dirty brown leather with a protruding eye for its centerpiece that opened wide to stare at him.

Sniper opened the book in the middle, turning his face away and shielding his eyes with one hand as a face shaped from smoke rose from the pages, screaming with pain before vanishing. A chill ran down Sniper’s spine as he flipped through the pages, skimming and turning to the next one when the information he was searching for didn’t appear. Finally, he found what he was looking for, quickly reading the few paragraphs before snapping the book shut with both hands and returning it to its place in the back of his storage box.

Sniper quickly slipped his hands into his gloves, gripping his kikuri as he stood silently at his door. He took a deep breath before opening it, letting the bright sun hit his eyes as he stared down at Scout who has taken a seat on the floor, trying to get the black mass to play a game of cards with him.

“Oh hey!” Scout exclaimed, dramatically waving a hand to greet him. “I stayed right here, but this thing doesn’t seem to want to do anything fun; it just keeps whispering about the eternal suffering of the innocent and an ancient curse and junk.” He shrugged, tossing the cards into a pile in front of him. 

“Stand up, Scout, let me try to take a look at that thing again.”

“Oh uh yeah, sure thing! It ain’t much of a talker, though, but we’re basically best friends now, so I can transla-”

Sniper lunged from his van, pushing off the edge with his left foot as he extended his right arm, bringing the kikuri into position to meet with Scout’s chest. The blade sunk into his sternum, passing its way into the blackness and out scouts back. Scout’s eyes widened, looking down to assess what he was feeling, a searing burn at the entry point. Sweat formed on his forehead as he looked up at sniper, who whispered in his ear with a shaky voice.

“Listen, I can't explain it. You'll have to trust me” He breathed, his left hand wrapped around his back, his body holding the now bleeding man up. “Everything’s going to be okay, just relax for a few more seconds.” Blood soaked into his shirt, the warm liquid making contact with his own chest as he held Scout.

With a harsh motion, Sniper quickly pulled the blade back through, blood dripping from the sharp metal to form small pools underneath him. Scout slid down Sniper’s body, blood streaking up his face before landing on his knees. 

His back arched backward, and he looked up at the clouds in the bright blue sky; the sun shining brightly into his eyes. More smoke poured from the open wound, a thick stream of smoke shot from his eyes in different colors, followed by the same smoke shooting out of his mouth into the same sky. The blackness in his chest began to close, screeching wailing out to pierce the men’s ears with ancient secrets and wishes of an untimely demise. The black hole closed itself up, taking the bloody wound with it. Scout fell to the floor, his breathing heavy as he tried to catch his breath.

“You okay, roo?” Sniper asked as he held out a hand to help him up

“We can call it that, yeah, sure; I’m okay,” He replied with disbelief, gripping Sniper’s hand to get to his feet. “What the fuck was that, snipes? How’d you know that’d work?”

“You had ghosts in your blood,” he said dryly, already opening the entrance to his van. “Come inside, I’ll make you some tea.”

Scout took a weak step inside, following closely behind Sniper. “Okay, then why was that black smoke getting all over my belt and my Boston bits?”

“Horny ghosts, and call it your ‘Boston bits’ again and i knock your teeth out.”


End file.
